Caribbean

Story and photos by Larry Luxner As politicians gear up for a gubernatorial election dominated by Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis and Washington’s approval of a control board to supervise the island’s finances, tourism offers a rare glimmer of hope for the troubled commonwealth, even as it chafes under the weight of the island’s $68 […]

Carnival Corporation & plc made history on March 21, 2016 when it announced that the Cuban government had granted approval for the company to begin travel to Cuba. On May 1, Carnival’s newest cruise brand, Fathom, began seven-day cruises every other week from Miami to Cuba onboard the 704-passenger MV Adonia, visiting the historic […]

Story and photos by Larry Luxner SANTA CLARA, Cuba — On Aug. 31, JetBlue became the first airline to offer direct commercial jet service between the United States and Cuba, when its Flight 387 from Fort Lauderdale touched down at Santa Clara’s Abel Santamaría International Airport. The flight, marked with melodramatic speeches, water-cannon salutes, ribbon […]

Dufry has won the tender for the duty free retail operations at Guadeloupe Pôle Caraïbes Airport and will be extending its existing concession contract until 2026 for duty free activities and until 2021 for two convenience stores. Under the new contract, Dufry will develop 5 new shops and almost double its retail space for a […]

French fragrance manufacturer INCC Group has successfully launched its latest fragrance, Mercedes-Benz Man, in the Caribbean duty free market with Penha Duty Free. The launch took place in Curaçao and Aruba, with VIP customers invited to discover the new fragrance of Mercedes-Benz Parfums. Developed by the French Master Perfumer Olivier Cresp, the fragrance, has been […]

Miami-based Actium Group has announced that it will manage the Americas business for the portfolio of brands recently purchased by Emperador Inc. from Beam Suntory, which includes Fundador, the Philippines’ best-selling premium imported brandy, Terry Centenario, Spain’s #1 selling brandy; Tres Cepas, the #1 brandy in Equatorial Guinea, and Harveys Sherry, including Bristol Cream. Beginning […]

Goslings Rums has formed a regional partnership with the MONARQ Group. MONARQ will represent Goslings in Latin America and the Caribbean for both duty free and domestic beginning July 1, 2016. Goslings Brothers Ltd is Bermuda’s oldest business house and largest exporter. Since 2004, Goslings Rums has been spearheading a major international expansion of […]

On June 10, the U.S. Department of Transportation approved six airlines to offer flights between the U.S. and Cuba: American Airlines , Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways , Silver Airways, Southwest Airlines and Sun Country Airlines. The flights could be available as early as this fall, and will be departing from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. The flights have […]

Starwood Hotels and Resorts has become the first American hotel company to enter the Cuba market for more than half a century. The chain has signed deals to manage two prestigious hotels in Havana and signed a letter of intent to operate a third. Starwood received special permission to proceed with the deal from the […]

On Wednesday, March 15, just days before President Barack Obama made his historic visit to Cuba, the U.S. Treasury Department announced a further easing of restrictions brought on by the 54-year-old economic embargo against Cuba. The new regulations make it easier for Americans to travel to the island, most notably allowing individuals to travel to […]

Carnival Corporation & plc today (March 21, 2016) made history, announcing that Cuba has granted approval for the company to begin travel to Cuba starting on May 1, 2016. Following U.S. authorization granted in July 2015, Carnival Corporation is now cleared to operate the 704-passenger MV Adonia to Cuba through its newest brand Fathom. This […]

The 2016 Seatrade Cruise Global event – the largest conference and trade show in the international cruise industry, hosting more than 800 exhibitors and 11,000 attendees –opened March 14 with its traditional State of the Global Industry presented by a panel of the cruise world’s top executives discussing innovation. Frank Del Rio, President & […]

The Bahamas government has reported that the tax free shopping scheme for visiting tourists that it implemented last August is now in use by more than 60% of eligible Bahamian merchants. The system was launched by Tax Free Shopping provider, Global Blue, in partnership with the Value Added Tax (VAT) and Customs Departments. Global Blue’s system […]

Essence Corp. has been appointed the exclusive agent for French luxury perfume Atelier Cologne for the Latin America Local markets and Travel Retail markets in the Americas and Caribbean. “Thanks to their solid expertise of the region and the excellent quality of their teams, we are confident that Essence Corp will be the ideal partner […]

In a remarkable accomplishment for which the travel retail industry should justifiably be very proud, the world-class Lycée Jean -Baptiste Pointe du Sale school in Saint-Marc, Haiti will be celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. Conceived by three travel retail executives in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in January 2010, the […]